This invention relates to tools for cutting bone, in particular, to reamers for cutting the cotyloid cavity of the acetabulum in the event of the replacement of the hip joint by a prosthetic cup.
Tools for cutting bone are often difficult to clean, and prions, soft tissue embedded in the tool from some prior use, are often difficult to remove. It is considered the most certain manner in which to ensure that no cross contamination occurs between uses is to provide a cutting tool that is intended for a single use. After such use, the cutting tool is simply discarded.
Acetabular reamers in the prior art are generally press-formed out of stamped, flat metal stock. However, in the typical such case, the hemispherical form that results after press-forming can include deformities, considering the severe working and stresses induced in the materials as the flat stock is formed up into a hemispherical shape. To obtain an accurate result with minimum warpage, such reamers must be made with complex and expensive machinery. Consequently, the costs for such prior art reamers are high. High costs of manufacture mean high final cost. Customers which pay a significant amount for a tool are not likely to discard such tools after a single use.
Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the present invention is not entitled to antedate such cited material by virtue of prior invention.
What is needed therefore is a tool for cutting bone that is simple to manufacture at low cost and therefore disposable.
Still further, what is needed therefore is a method of manufacturing a disposable reamer that provides an accurate hemispherical form and thus ensures accurate cutting.